Vehicle mounted brooms are well known. One of the most common types are rotary brooms is driven by auxiliary power from the vehicle on which they are mounted. Several disadvantages to sweeping apparatuses such as these include the very limited types of vehicles upon which they can be mounted, along with a high cost of manufacturing. Furthermore, rotary sweepers require higher maintenance due to the moving parts and also tend to wear much more rapidly than stationary sweepers, requiring the bristle elements to be replaced on a much more frequent basis. Another disadvantage to these type of sweeping devices is the amount of dust created when in use, limiting their uses to applications where airborne dust is not a problem.
Fixed position brooms that are attached to vehicles overcome the foregoing disadvantages in that they can be mounted on a variety of vehicles and have no moving parts that require increased maintenance. Typically comprised of a frame upon which a plurality of brushes are individually attached, brush wear is decreased, requiring replacement less frequently. Other advantages to fixed position brooms over rotary types include a greater variety of applications because of the ability to mount the brushes in several orientations and positions. Another important advantage over rotating sweepers is that fixed position brooms are significantly less expensive to manufacture.
In the fixed position vehicle mounted broom disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,865, multiple brushes are removeably attached to the main frame of the sweeper by C-shaped channels. The invention discloses the use of extension assemblies upon which additional brushes are mounted in a similar manner to increase sweeping surface or change the sweeping angle of the brushes when combined with the main sweeping body.
Although U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,865 has several advantages over rotary sweeping devices, there are further advantages of the present invention for use in the preferred application not taught by U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,865. First, U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,865 does not teach a means of sweeping or cleaning vertical surfaces such as the inside hull surfaces of a barge as well as a means to sweep the floor, whereas the present invention overcomes this obstacle. Another disadvantage of U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,865 is the use of bristle only type brush elements that may not remove all the debris on the surface being swept due to slippage of particulate matter through the bristles or because it may be stuck to the surface. The present invention may embody resilient squeegee type blades in conjunction with brush elements to further enhance the cleaning efficiency of the sweeper.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,174 embodies a vehicle mounted sweeping apparatus with brush arms that are pivotal to a vertical orientation for transportation and storage of the sweeper but are not designed to be used in that position. As a result of the aforesaid shortcomings of the prior art sweeper designs, the need arose for a vehicle mounted sweeping apparatus that has no moving parts, can sweep and squeegee vertical surfaces as well as horizontal surfaces of the inside of a vessel such as a barge, one that can be used in a variety of applications, mounted to a variety of vehicles, and manufactured with minimal time and expense.